Where Is Veronica’s Veil?

Q: In the May 1998 issue, there is an excellent article on the Shroud of Turin. I would like to ask where is the veil that Veronica used to wipe the face of Jesus, and why isn’t it more well-known?

I read somewhere that the veil is stored in a church in Europe, but I cannot remember where. It seems that something as important as Veronica’s veil should also be on display. After all, this is the imprint of the face of Jesus, painted by Jesus himself. It would be a great service to believers and non believers alike if the veil were displayed.

A: In discussing Veronica and the veil on which Jesus is said to have imprinted the image of his face, it is im-portant to remember neither Veronica nor her veil is mentioned in the Scriptures. Are Veronica and her story a creation of Christian piety and devotion? Or was her story preserved and handed down in tradition by the early Christians? No one can really answer those questions.

We do know that Veronica’s name seems derived from the veil. It seems to come from the Latin words vera ("true") and icon ("image"). We do know from Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints that in the apocryphal Acts of Pilate Veronica is identified with the woman suffering from an issue of blood in the Gospel of Matthew.

We are told that by legend Veronica carried the image from the Holy Land to cure the Emperor Tiberius of an illness. And, according to the encyclopedia, the veil was seen in Rome in the eighth century. In 1297, by the order of Pope Boniface VIII, the image was brought to St. Peter’s.

Joan Carroll Cruz has several pages about the veil and its story in her book Relics from Our Sunday Visitor. She informs us the veil is still kept in St. Peter’s and from time to time has been offered for display.